North Point, on Hong Kong Island is one of those communities that makes living here so interesting. There are still so many small old shops and very narrow streets that is a Hong Kong that I never new existed. Indeed I am finding out about Shaukiwan and Lan Kwai Fong now that I work in Central. After 15 years in Hong Kong I had never ventured into these areas.
Yesterday I found a very very long street market that only sells fresh vegetables and fruits. All covered stalls and the most beautiful vegetables I've ever seen....and so reasonably priced. I buy stuff even when I don't need it. Terrible habit.
Back to North Point. I live about a block away from the water, so the North Point Ferry terminal is just down the street in case I want to venture over to Kowloon side. The MTR station is 1/2 block away from my front door which means I can be in central in 11 minutes. There are even direct buses to China on the street next to where I live. Not sure where in China they go, but they have Chinese license plates on the buses.
I live in Island Place, a very nice up market 3 tower residential complex with a big swimming pool, and a nice shopping mall all below the apartments so I can go to Park n Shop grocery store easily and the food court is famous for its Chinese and Shanghainese food. Actually North Point was mostly inhabited by people from Shanghai who escaped China in 1967 during the Cultural Revolution.
I am 2 stops away from Taikoo Shing which is were I used to live, and the location of Cityplaza where the ice rink is that brought me to Hong Kong in 1987. Its still there and still doing very well. They have 35 coaches working at that rink and a very high demand for skating lessons. Has to be one of the busiest skating school's in the world. All the same coaches are still working there as well so I see Jatherine, Dior, Tony Leung, Sam Lee, Marco Chan, Tammy, Bikas, Robin, and all the rest still working there day after day.
Hong Kong in summer is quite warm, but not as warm as Hangzhou. I think HK might get to 34 or 35c on a really hot day but Hangzhou is at least 5c hotter all the time which is a big mystery to me since its more than 1000 km. north of here. Its even hotter than Shanghai which is in the same area.
So, back in Hong Kong. Just getting started on my work at Ice Rink Concepts, so awaiting my first real rink assignment which should be happening very soon. Tomorrow have meeting with the famous Bernardo, the owner of Arquitectonica....world famous architectural firm in Miami, Florida.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
NO LONGER IN HANGZHOU
On April 1st, I left Hangzhou. Took my little dog Kita on board a train with 2 of my staff. We had a private room with comfortable beds for the 18 hour trip to Shenzhen. Took all night, arriving the next morning at 10am. There to meet us was Eddie Xie, Alex Yeung and Jason Zhang. Poor little Kita speeded off to the nearby park to pee and do her thing. This was the hardest part of the journey because we had to part with Kita for about 4 hours. In the meantime I crossed the border into Hong Kong and got off the MTR at Shung Shui with Alex and the others and had lunch while we waited for Kita to arrive.
About 2 hours later we get a call she is in Kowloon Bay, so Lion and I headed over as fast as we could by taxi to get her. She was in total shock and didn't even recognize me at first. Took her about 6 hours to get over the cage she was locked in.
On arrival at the new apartment, David Liu and Darren Olivero were there still getting the place in shape. My furniture had not arrived yet so there wasn't much there except for 2 beds. Lion and I went out to buy some basics and some food.
Those first weeks were hard getting the furniture organized but things are now totally settled down. The view from he apartment of HK harbor is spectacular. There is a dog park just a block away for Kita so she goes there almost everyday and there are so many people with dogs all over the place. I take her outside each morning at 630am and again at 630pm when I get home from work.
I now work as CEO of Ice Rink Concepts, Ltd., which is a division of The Development Studio. Our offices are on the 9th floor of Baskerville House on Duddell Street in Central, the downtown area of Hong Kong Island. We have a sweeping view of trees the the peak outside our windows and we're just 1/2 block from the big house where the Chief Executive of Hong Kong lives (the governor).
I am just a block from Lan Kwai Fong, the main restaurant and night club area of Hong Kong which is most popular every evening and on weekends. You can find any kind of food, drink, bar, restaurant, bathhouse, art gallery, antique shop, you name it....it's there.
So great to be back in Hong Kong, which in my opinion, is the best city on earth. Its not Paris, London or New York but those 3 are also not Hong Kong. This is a very rich, very elegant, very stylish and cosmopolitan city and while its also the world's most expensive place to live, its worth it so long as you have a job that can pay the outrageous rents (my very nice but tiny flat is $3000 a month...thats USD).
HK has the best airport in the world. Nothing like it anywhere. Its like a combination of a luxury hotel and luxury shopping mall. Big and with it's own subway system to take you to your gate.
We are just 35 min from the border of mainland China and the city of Shenzhen. From the air, its difficult to see the difference of two huge cities side by side. A total population of the two near to 14 million people. Sz is becoming one of China's most advanced cities with a population of migrant workers in all sectors. Compared to Hong Kong its a great deal more affordable but you also have to put us with internet filtering, poor police presence, crime, alongside luxury malls and hotels. I lived there for 7 years and but I didn't go out much. It was only 5 min to the HK border so I usually crossed over to do most of the things I needed to do.
So, come to visit.
About 2 hours later we get a call she is in Kowloon Bay, so Lion and I headed over as fast as we could by taxi to get her. She was in total shock and didn't even recognize me at first. Took her about 6 hours to get over the cage she was locked in.
On arrival at the new apartment, David Liu and Darren Olivero were there still getting the place in shape. My furniture had not arrived yet so there wasn't much there except for 2 beds. Lion and I went out to buy some basics and some food.
Those first weeks were hard getting the furniture organized but things are now totally settled down. The view from he apartment of HK harbor is spectacular. There is a dog park just a block away for Kita so she goes there almost everyday and there are so many people with dogs all over the place. I take her outside each morning at 630am and again at 630pm when I get home from work.
I now work as CEO of Ice Rink Concepts, Ltd., which is a division of The Development Studio. Our offices are on the 9th floor of Baskerville House on Duddell Street in Central, the downtown area of Hong Kong Island. We have a sweeping view of trees the the peak outside our windows and we're just 1/2 block from the big house where the Chief Executive of Hong Kong lives (the governor).
I am just a block from Lan Kwai Fong, the main restaurant and night club area of Hong Kong which is most popular every evening and on weekends. You can find any kind of food, drink, bar, restaurant, bathhouse, art gallery, antique shop, you name it....it's there.
So great to be back in Hong Kong, which in my opinion, is the best city on earth. Its not Paris, London or New York but those 3 are also not Hong Kong. This is a very rich, very elegant, very stylish and cosmopolitan city and while its also the world's most expensive place to live, its worth it so long as you have a job that can pay the outrageous rents (my very nice but tiny flat is $3000 a month...thats USD).
HK has the best airport in the world. Nothing like it anywhere. Its like a combination of a luxury hotel and luxury shopping mall. Big and with it's own subway system to take you to your gate.
We are just 35 min from the border of mainland China and the city of Shenzhen. From the air, its difficult to see the difference of two huge cities side by side. A total population of the two near to 14 million people. Sz is becoming one of China's most advanced cities with a population of migrant workers in all sectors. Compared to Hong Kong its a great deal more affordable but you also have to put us with internet filtering, poor police presence, crime, alongside luxury malls and hotels. I lived there for 7 years and but I didn't go out much. It was only 5 min to the HK border so I usually crossed over to do most of the things I needed to do.
So, come to visit.
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